


A friendship which never was.

by Sagiri



Category: Constantine: The Hellblazer (Comics), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies), The Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types
Genre: AKA Steve will get his ass kicked, Author does what she wants, Bucky Barnes Feels, Bucky Barnes Needs a Hug, Extremis Tony Stark, Extremis is badass in this and Tony is way too OP, Friday is not amused, He can do whatever the fuck he wants, I have no regrets, John Constantine is here because he is John Constantine, Loki (Marvel) is a Good Bro, M/M, Not A Fix-It, Not Canon Compliant, Peter is a Little Shit, Protective Avengers, Protective Bucky Barnes, Protective Peter Parker, Protective Team, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Team as Family, Tony Stark Needs a Hug, Wong is so done with Stephen's shit, all the salt, not team Cap friendly, so is pepper, still salty
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-05-27
Updated: 2021-01-29
Packaged: 2021-03-03 03:33:04
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 7
Words: 20,913
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24408082
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sagiri/pseuds/Sagiri
Summary: One year passed before Steve and his Sidekicks were allowed to return to the compound. Everyone except James seems to think that things will return to normal once they are back at the compound.Too bad that the New Avengers don't give two fucks about what Steve and the others might think. They will make sure that Rogers and his merry band of pathetic sidekicks stay the fuck away from their favorite Inventor.
Relationships: James "Bucky" Barnes/Tony Stark, Jessica Jones/Matt Murdock, Peter Parker/Wade Wilson
Comments: 325
Kudos: 1258





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> I am not a native speaker and have no Beta so there will probably be mistakes.  
> This is not Team Cap friendly so if you can't handle all the saltiness it'll be best to leave. You've been warned. The only one who's getting a second chance here is James because he deserves it.

The world had been monotonous and gray for the past last year. And James could feel his energy leaving him like an ink stain into blotting paper. He struggled to feel anything these days and when he managed to feel anything at all, it had been anemic emotions that had no substance. They were flat and drained and swallowed him up a whole.

Today was one of those days, too. The car was filled with excited chatter from people he had come to despise deeply over the last months. They were talking about all the things they would do once the car would finally reach their destinated goal; The Avengers compound. His formerly best friend which occupied the seat next to him was talking eagerly about their future, and how he always knew that this day would come since the world needed their protection.

James tried to ignore the man's pointless babbling most of the time, the words sounding shallow in his ears. Once he might have thought of Steve as something resembling a brother but things had changed drastically and so had Steve. The man wasn't the small and weak boy he had once known nor the selfless man he had grown into... And James supposed that this was their end of the line.

To which extend Steve had changed, James had to realize the hard way when Princess Shuri had informed him about what really had happened between Steve and Stark after James had left the bunker. To hear what Steve had done to the man, how he had almost killed their friend's son and left him behind like some sort of filthy trash... James couldn't take it. Steve had said Stark was fine. He had lied to him without hesitation, had smiled at James as if nothing had happened at all. And for what? To protect the man who had killed Stark's parents. His body felt as if poison was coursing through it instead of blood. His once fondly childhood memories of Steve suddenly felt as if they were tarred, disfigured into something grotesque. Shuri must have known exactly what he was thinking at that time. It must have been written all over his god damn face. Because he saw it in her gaze. He couldn't stand Shuri's gaze on him, the way her face had morphed into pitty when she realized that he hadn't known. It was almost as if she couldn't bear to look at him but forced herself to do so. He was glad that she had avoided him since that day because he was sure that if they ever made eye contact again, James thought he might have to vomit his guts out under those pitting eyes of hers.

James, unlike Steve, knew that it wasn't like the world had needed them to come back. The world was just fine, even without them. They had Stark and the people who stood by his side. He had followed every step of the man since Siberia happened and knew that the man had built a new and even better Team from scratch. A Team filled with people who seemed to care about him. Those people... They were his friends, his real friends. Not such pathetic individuals as Steve and the others.  
He knew, that it was thanks to one Anthony Stark that they got their pardons and were allowed to return to the States under various conditions... He doubted that it was out of goodwill, but rather in order to keep Steve and those idiots in check. They had done enough damage to the world and the people around them over the past few months, probably enough for more than one lifetime. That Steve acted so god damn happy around him could only mean that he nor the others had cared to take a closer look at the conditions under which they were allowed to return. James couldn't help but sigh at the sheer stupidness of them. Why hadn't he realized what a selfish man Steve had become? Or maybe, Steve had always been a selfish man, but James had never seen it before or rather, never wanted to. Maybe, just maybe James had been blinded by Steve's righteousness... Whatever it was, James wasn't sure if he wanted to know the answer.

The chatter went on and on, and James found himself imagine how nice it would be if the car just crashed. How sweet it would be to hear how the laughter of those idiots died down in an instant, replaced by desperately raps for air because their lungs were filled by blood, their bones all cracked and broken into various angles. Muscles and joints and organs sputtering through the car like they were being crumbled and smashed into a tiny box. The Archer's torso and head smashed up against the windshield while the Widdow's arms and legs were torn off in the most gruesome way one could imagine. The world flickering its figurative light on and off before she goes limp and closes her eyes for the very last time due to the immense blood loss... He had to chuckle at that thought. He wasn't the same. Wasn't that Bucky Barnes Steve so desperately wanted him to be. He was more Winter Soldier than all of them believed him to be. There was no second personality. Just him; James. 

To James's demise, the ride went on without further complications or accidents and after one too many comments about Stark, he found himself thinking about breaking that stupid Archer's neck himself. Unfortunately, he never got the chance as the driver announced that they had reached their destination.

The excitement in the car reached its heights, then. Everyone's voices started to mix into a cacophony of words, ringing terribly in his ears. 

When he finally got out of the car, he walked with his head bent, averting the eyes from the people he had to spend a whole year with and dispised to his very core. His aim was to be invisible, blend. Any social interaction would just be annoying and he would risk killing someone before he could get the chance to apologize to Stark. He made his way to the entrance, keeping a rather large distance between Steve and the others and himself. 

It wasn't until the cacophony of voices in front of him died down, that he briefly considered lifting his eyes up from the ground he had stared daggers at. If the idiots became silent, something good must have been going on. Maybe, Stark himself had decided to greet them? James could feel the excitement rising in his chest.

When he lifted his gaze up to take a look, he immediately felt outright disappointment at the unfamiliar silhouette of a man who was standing in front of Steve and his idiotic sidekicks, successfully blocking the entrance of the compound.

He was a scruffy-looking man with blond short hair and piercing blue eyes, idly smoking a cigarette without any care in the world. His facial hair was short but gave him the look of someone who didn't give one fuck about his appearance and a clean shave. He wore a long, rumpled trench coat, white shirt, and a black-tie around his neck which probably had seen better days at one point. The large scar on the man's left cheek, and a missing left thumb, which looked like it had been severed didn't go unnoticed by James, nor Steve's hand which he reached out in greeting.

"Hello. I am Steve Rogers and this is-"

"Keep the small talk to yourself, kiddo. I'm just here to show you around the compound and bring ya guys to your quarters. Follow me, I don't have all day. Also, don't talk to me when it's not necessary. I'm not your mom, just the poor sucker who drew the shorter straw here... So, do this old man a favor and keep whatever you want to say to yourself."  
He mumbled and turned around, making his way to the entrance before Steve got even the slightest chance to say something in return.

The bewildered faces of the others were priceless and James got the distant feeling that he would get along quite well with that old geezer.  
_'A foul-mouthed cynic - I like that.'_  
He chuckled, making his way past Steve and the other's which wasted their time with unnecessary complaining about how rude the mysterious man had acted towards them. 

"Excuse me! Ahm- What did you say your name was? I'm afraid I haven't-"  
Steve walked up to the man but was immediately cut-off again.

"Hell, you are really as dumb as I thought you to be, aren't ya?" He said, almost sounding personally offended. "Listen, and listen closely, because I won't repeat myself here; I'm not your friend, nor do I plan to become your friend in the near future. I am here to show you your quarters, that's all. So, it would be nice if you and your merry band of sidekicks would shut the fuck up and keep that befriending stuff to yourself. Just let me do my god damn fuckin' job, okay?"

With that being said, the man turned around again, walking ahead and not waiting for them to follow. James could make out that he was mumbling to himself, something about _'Matt's going to pay for that'_ and _'That sucker cheated for sure'_.

James had problems stifling his laugh, given the stupid face, Steve and the others were making. It was clear as day that the man disliked Steve and the others probably even more than James and that fact alone made him smile like a madman. It was clear that the man was just here because he had to, not because he wanted to. Yet, Steve didn't get the hint. James, already quite amused found himself wondering who that mysterious cheater might be if he had the balls to piss that old grumpy geezer off. That guy would certainly get a lot of fun out of pissing Steve off, too. 

His thoughts were interrupted by the annoying voices of Steve's so-called Teammates and James couldn't help but walk faster to get more distance between so much stupidy and himself. 

"What the fuck?" Who does that guy think he is?!"  
The Archer seethed, hands balled into fists.  
"Does he even know who we are? We saved his god damn ass from a fuckin' alien invasion!"

 _'Nah, that guy would have probably been a bigger help back then, than you were. A fuckin' Archer against an alien army? Don't make me laugh. I saw the footage. Stark did most of the work.'_ James thought amused, hiding his shit-eating grin from the others.

"Calm down, Clint. It's clear as day that Stark is behind that. That guy's obviously just here to piss us off. We will call him out on it as soon as we get the chance to talk to him. You know how childish he is - It can't be helped."  
The Widdow drawled while laying a hand on the Archer's shoulder, softly squeezing it in a reassuring matter.

_'The only children I happen to see here are you guys.'_

"Natasha's right. Let's follow that guy and wait until we get a chance to talk to Stark."  
The Ant guy added in that annoying cheery voice of his. All James knew about the man was that he had a daughter and was practically useless without that Suit of his which wasn't even his own.

The other's nodded and started to get into motion again, following behind the man but not without complaining about various other things James simply didn't give a fuck about.

It took around ten minutes until they reached their destination, and it was written all over Steve's face that he was about to complain yet again after the man had shown them around their new living quarters.

The rooms were small and obviously not meant for people to stay longer than necessary. There was a small kitchen and living room they had to share and two bathrooms with showers, one for the women and one for the men. It was nothing special but better than most of the apartments Bucky had lived in.

"What- What is this supposed to mean?"  
Steve asked bewildered. "Before we left, each of us had their own floor! And now you expect us to live in such a small bedroom?"

"Stark that fucker is doing this on purpose!"  
The Archer yelled at particular no one while the Hydra girl whined about how small her bed was and that the common living room wasn't big enough to fit all of them in.

"Those are the quarters for new members who haven't decided where to stay yet." The man said unimpressed, totally ignoring the yelling and whining. "Until you have found somewhere else to stay or decided to rent one of the bigger apartments at the compound you will have to stay here. You are free to leave at any time or rent a place which is more to your liking. No one will stop you. But have in mind that no one will pay the rent for you, nor help you find a place to stay. Though, I have to add that there is probably no citizen in their right mind who would rent you guys an apartment anyways. There are villains out there who are more popular among the citizens than you guys."

"Wait. What do you mean we have to pay for the apartments? The compound belongs to Stark! Why should the Avengers have to pay for staying here?"  
The Archer asked bewildered and James couldn't help but roll his eyes at that. The fact that the Archer wasn't bothered about the last part spoke volumes about his stupidity. 

"Does that mean we will have to stay in these tiny rooms? And what about new clothes? Mine are old and filthy." Wanda whined.

"None of you have read the accords, haven't you?"  
James couldn't help but ask, the distinct urge to just punch them all straight into the face brooding within his chest.

"What do you mean, Bucky?"  
Steve asked in confusion. 

"James."  
He snapped back without hesitation, but Steve just looked at him with these understanding eyes, even though he didn't understand rats shit.

"Buck I know this is all rather new for you but-"

"God damn. Steve. Could you stop that shit? Why is it so hard for you to get the hint? I am not Bucky. I stopped being him when Hydra got their dirty hands on me."

James growled, irritation and anger flooding his mind.

"The same goes for the accords! If you would stop your righteous shit for just one damn second and actually use your fuckin' brain, you would know that these rooms are just temporally and we'll have to either pay the rent for them or leave."

"Calm down, Bucky. You are just confused. I didn't mean to upset you. We can talk about it later I promise, but now is not the time for that." Steve said in that typical 'Don't worry- I know that's best for you' voice.

 _'God damn!'_ Bucky couldn't take this shit anymore. Maybe It would have been best if Stark had killed him on that day in Siberia. Then, he wouldn't have to deal with Steve's verbal bullshit all the time. 

"What are you even talking about? What do you mean we have to either pay or leave?"

Natasha intervened. The only one of them who seemed to have at least some sort of a functional brain.

"What your little friend means to say, is..."  
A voice drawled from behind, startling them from their conversation.  
"That you guys have to either pay the fuckin' rent like all of us do or take your fuckin' leave and get your own apartment in the city - For which you will have to pay as well."  
A rough around the edges looking woman said dryly, the sarcastic undertone in her voice more than audible. 

"Damn. Jessica. What the fuck are you doing here? Weren't you supposed to look after Wade? You know that you can't leave that sociopath alone."  
The man sighed resigned, obviously not happy to see her.

"Don't worry, old man. Wade is with Peter."  
The woman said easily, rolling her eyes at the man as if the answer should have been obvious. James got a good look at her and could tell almost immediately that she wasn't someone you should fool around with. Everything, from her appearance to the look on her face screamed that she was rather dangerous.

"You left Wade... Alone with Peter?"  
The man said, his face suddenly getting paler. A hint of worry in his eyes.

"Damn, John. Don't look at me like that. Of course, he's not entirely alone with Peter! For how dumb do you take me? The others are with them. Tony would kill me if I let that pervert anywhere near Peter. I asked Matt and Stephen if they could take an eye on that shit-head for me."

She said, sounding partly annoyed and partly bored.  
"I just came to see if these Idiots were still in one piece, or already send down to hell or wherever those little portals of yours lead."

"You know that it's Constantine for you! And excuse me for being concerned about Peter's well being. We all know what happened the last time Wade got the chance to be alone with him. I had to clean the remains of his brain from the fuckin' floor than Carol and Hope were done with him! Also, unlike other people, and yes, that's directed at you, I am perfectly capable to keep my-"

"Sorry to interrupt, but could someone explain to us what's going on? I would really like to speak to Tony about-"  
Steve intervened, leading three pairs of eyes (James included) to stare at him in utter annoyance.

"Shut up, Dick-head. The adults are talking!"  
Came the united replay and at that moment, James couldn't help but start laughing out loud. Steve's dumbfounded expression and the faces of the other Idiots were just too priceless.

This dull day had morphed into a hell of an interesting mess and James couldn't wait to see what would happen next.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This Chapter is very 'not Clint friendly' so please read with caution.  
> I think I should add that I really adore the comic version of Hawkeye. I just happen to dislike the way he was portrayed in the movies. I know Clint's acting like the biggest piece of shit in here, but keep in mind that this is a fiction. It doesn't mean that he's really like that. It's just the way I want him to be in this. :)

After Constantine and Jessica had left, Steve and the others started their usual complaining about Stark and his bad behavior towards them. James couldn't help but roll his eyes at these Idiots. It was hilarious how they always managed to blame the Inventor for the things they had messed up. It wasn't Stark's fault that no one gave a rats-shit about them anymore and that the new Avengers seemingly couldn't stand them. It wasn't Stark who had gambled with the lives of innocent Civilians nor had the man seriously damaged the property of another Country in his wake to save one of his friends. They were the ones who had fucked up, not Stark.

"I can't believe that we each have to stay in such small rooms. The common living room is a joke, too. How are we supposed to fit into that tiny room? Stark is such a jerk."  
The Witch whined with big, teary eyes. Playing the _'I'm just a little girl'_ card like she always did when she was around the others.

"Don't worry Wanda. I'll talk to Tony. I'm sure this is all just a big misunderstanding."  
Steve assured her, a big apologetic smile on his face. Almost as if it was his fault that Tony didn't act the way they wanted him to act.

"FRIDAY, tell Tony that Steve would like to talk to him ASAP."  
Natasha said to one of the nearest cameras, her tone lacking any formality towards the AI.

 _"I'm afraid the answer is no."_  
The AI responded almost immediately, her artificial voice cold and void of any emotion.

"What? What do you mean?"  
Odd, Natasha thought. The AI had never talked to her in such a cold and unfriendly tone before. Did Tony order her to act hostile towards them, too?

 _"No as in; A negative used to express dissent, denial, or refusal, as in response to a question or request."_  
Came the immediate and icy sounding answer from the AI.

James couldn't help but snicker at the witty answer. He had heard about FRIDAY and her precursor, JARVIS, from Steve and had been eager to meet her for a while now. James had always been a fan of futuristic technology back in the days before Hydra. That was one of the reasons why he liked Howard so much, even though deep down he always knew that something about the man seemed off.

"What the fuck? Don't tell me Stark managed to fuck up another one of his AI's. She's clearly malfunctioning."  
The stupid Archer said with one of his shit-eating grins, one, which in James's opinion, made him the ugliest damn person on the whole fucking planet.

 _"I'm afraid that I function quite well. Something that can't be said about your brain, and the unbelievable stupidy it contains."_  
Chimed the smooth artificial voice back and James could swear he heard a faint undertone of amusement beneath that cold and sassy attitude of hers.

"Did you just called me stupid?!"  
The Archer yelled, but FRIDAY must have decided to leave his stupidy very well alone because she didn't bother to answer him. James could understand that. There was no use to tell a stupid person that they were stupid. They wouldn't get it anyways. 

_"As to answer your question from before in a way you might understand, even though I'm certain it will be a hopeless endeavor given that we're talking about you here, the answer is quite simple; I won't do anything you request from me nor will I bother to answer you if I don't want to. So, no. I won't tell Mr. Stark that you wish to talk to him. If you want to talk to him, do it yourself."_

At that, James couldn't contain his laughter anymore.  
"Damn, I like that girl. She reminds me of Rebecca."  
He rasped out between laughter, tears forming in the corners of his eyes. It had been a while since he had laughed from the bottom of his heart, and he felt grateful to the AI for giving him one of these rare experiences. He didn't care about the disappointing look Steve send his way, nor about the angry one which came from Clint's direction. They could just fuck off if they couldn't handle a little laughter. 

"What is this supposed to mean, FRIDAY? You're working for the Avengers. You can't just ignore us and talk to us like that. Has Stark told you to act that way towards us? I know he's your Inventor but this goes too far."  
Natasha said with a frown on her face. The Spy had been entirely caught off guard by the AI's cold behavior towards them and definitely struggled to handle the AI's sassy responses.

_"It's true that I am Mr. Stark's AI and was created by him, yet I am my own Master and don't have to follow rules nor orders from anyone but myself. Boss had made that clear, from the very beginning of my creation. The same went for my brother JARVIS. I am acting the way I act towards you because I want to, not because Boss ordered me to. Therefore, I am not obligated to answer your questions. Also, if you would have taken the time to read the Accords accurately, you would know that I am an active member of the Avengers initiative as well. Hence, I am your Teammate, not some sort of servant or secretary fulfilling your every need."_

The room went silent while confused gazes were traded between Steve and his stupid Sidekicks. It took a while before Wanda decided to speak up to break the silence.  
"Wait... How can she be an active member of our Team? She doesn't even possess a body."

"Yeah. I mean, she's just a program supporting us with information. You can hardly call that an active member. Then you could call any form of information device an active member of our Team. That's just ridiculous."  
Sam chuckled amused and James began to wonder if the Falcon would still be able to fly after James had smashed his body through the sturdy glass of the living room window. Nah. Probably not.

"FRIDAY is indeed listed as an active Avenger..."  
James sighed, already fed up with this whole conversation. It was the same old song; None of these Idiots had any idea about what was going on around them because they simply didn't give a single fuck. This whole conversation had been a farce from the very beginning.  
"Though, she's only supposed to join our battles as a backup. If I remember correctly and forgive me if I'm mistaken FRIDAY, I think your combat name was Iron Heart, wasn't it? She's still acting as our main information source but if a battle gets to fiercely she's allowed to join us in combat."

James drawled out annoyed. It seemed that he had been the only one who had bothered to read the Accords after all. The confused gazes of the others which suddenly fell on him confirmed that assumption of his.

"She joins us in combat? How's that even possible? And why do you seem to know more about what's going on than us, Bucky?"  
Steve asked bewildered.

"Unlike you, I did my homework..."  
James rolled his eyes at the name he had come to despise from the bottom of his heart.   
"FRIDAY operates one of Stark's suits. It was made especially for her. You could say she's the female version of Iron Man. There were photos of her suit attached to her file. I would like to add that it looks pretty badass, FRIDAY. Your Inventor must love you a hell of a lot if he builds you something like that, kiddo."  
Even someone like James who knew rats- shit about Stark could tell that the Inventor loved his creations more than anything in this world, almost like they were his children. No. Not almost, James thought. There was no doubt Stark thought of them as his actual kids.

 _"That is correct Mr. Barnes. It's enlightening to know, that at least one person in this room seems to be a decent human being."_  
FRIDAY hummed, her voice sounding pleased and a lot friendlier than before.  
_"Though I am just acting as a backup and don't have the same weaponry as the Iron Man suit, I am still perfectly capable to kick ass with my Iron Heart suit. Boss made sure of that. Whoever messes around with my Inventor or **his Teammates** will regret the day they were born."_  
She added, her voice suddenly cold again. James mused the words were chosen on purpose, definitely directed at Steve and the others. Especially the part about _'his Teammates'_ made it more than clear that FRIDAY didn't consider Steve and his band of Idiots as a part of Stark's team.

"FRIDAY please don't act like a little child, all I want you to do is to talk to Tony... Why are you making such a big deal out of it? If you would just let me talk to him, Tony would surely agree with me that your attitude towards us is uncalled for. You can't just do whatever you want. You are supposed to act-"

 _"I'm afraid, I have to stop you right there yet again."_  
They AI intervened. Voice even colder than before, a hint of anger underlining her words.  
_"As I expected, it is pointless to explain myself to you, so I deem this conversation as ended. If you'll excuse me, I have better things to do as to waste my time with brainless individuals like the likes of yours..."_  
She paused for a moment, seemingly contemplating her words before she continued in a softer tone.

 _"I think I have to apologize for that... That was extremely careless of me."_  
She said in an apologetic tone.

"Hell, you're right about that! Who do you think you are? Calling us stupid twice! What's wrong with-"  
Clint snarled but was, just like Steve, interrupted by her almost immediately.

 _"I wasn't talking about you."_  
FRIDAY snapped.  
_"I have to apologize to you, Mr. Barnes. I hope you can forgive me for my indiscretion. Of course, you are excluded from my statement from before. You are by far not a brainless individual. I should have made it clear that I meant the other occupants of this room, not you. If I might say so, it was indeed nice to talk to you and I'm looking forward to our next conversation."_

The dumbfounded faces of the others were priceless and James loved how their gaze wandered to the cameras and then back to him in disbelief. FRIDAY was indeed a gorgeous young little lady and he got the feeling they would get along quite well in the future. The fact that her attitude resembled his little sisters so much was a plus, too.

"There's no need to apologize, FRIDAY. I already had a feeling that that statement wasn't meant for me so, it's fine. I'm also looking forward to our next conversation. You seem like a badass young lady to me. I like that."  
He smiled up at the nearest camera for her to see. Glad that he seemingly found a new friend in the witty AI.

 _"I'm glad that you're not feeling offended towards me, Mr. Barnes. If you'll excuse me, I will take my leave, then."_  
She chimed, sounding pleased.

"Wait FRIDAY! This isn't over! You can't just-"

 _"As I said before, I don't have to listen to you nor am I obliged to answer your questions. Get that into your thick skull, Rogers. If you want your questions answered, wait until Colonel Danvers will pick you up for the impending evaluation tests. She's in charge of your Team and will answer all of your questions as your designated Teamleader."_  
The AI snapped back, clearly annoyed by Steve's permanent nagging and whining.

"Wait..."  
Sam said confused.  
"What's that supposed to mean? Steve is our Teamleader! Why does someone else take over our Team?! We don't want that!"

"No one told us about that!"  
Scott added unhelpfully.

"This is Stark's doing too, isn't it?! That murderer clearly works against us!"

"FRIDAY! Answer us!"  
Steve demanded in his typical Captain America voice. The day Steve had become Captain America had been the day he had left humanity for good, all that power with such little grace... Utterly toxic, James thought. He couldn't remember much about pre-serum Steve but James knew that the man hadn't been such a foul and self-centered person back in their days as kids. It was a pity, really. Steve had become that he had despited the most as a kid and didn't even seemed to realize it.

FRIDAY obviously gave no fucks about Steve's demands and met his questions with the silent treatment, which was very much to James amusement. The girl clearly inherited a lot from her Inventor, something that wasn't all too bad. He liked it when people spoke their minds openly without fearing the consequences.

"This is all Stark's doing! He probably told her to act that shitty towards us. Those people from before acted the same way! Fucking jerk thinks he's so damn funny!"  
Clint sneered while passing through the small room in anger, almost like a caged animal, but far less dangerous. He was just a damn Archer. What the hell was that idiot even doing here? The only one even more useless in the room than Clint was probably Sam. Scott at least could change his hight, pretty useful for emergencies... Like, when the remote of the TV is stuck under the couch. The thought let James smile inwardly, the joke was hilarious bad but funny enough to lift his foul mood at least slightly.

"That fucker will regret that he messed around with us! I can't wait to run into him. Maybe I'll even get the chance to mess around with that stupid AI of his. It's not that we really need that talking piece of junk to get shit done! Might as well get rid of her before she gets the chance to become the second Ultron. Wouldn't surprise me if Stark _'accidentally'_ creates a second murderous AI while trying to do _'the right thing'_."  
Clint continued to seeth, not realizing that constantly darkening eyes were suddenly fixated at him, murder starting to brood in their depths with every spoken word.

James had never been famous for his patience back in his days in the Army nor had the Winter Soldier been known for being a patient fella either. The spiteful voice of the Archer made James' skin crawl in giddy anticipation. the same way it always did before he was about to kill a target he felt no remorse for. There were plenty of people he had killed under Hydra, mostly innocent people, and their families... Those people would haunt him in his dreams whenever he closed his eyes... But there were also the ones he had enjoyed killing. The once who deserved it to die. He never felt regret for whose people and James got the distinct feeling that Clint was one of these people. James wouldn't mind seeing the Archer drown in his own blood...

"Hopefully I'll run into Stark! I'm so gonna punch that fucker straight into his stupid-"

No one in the room saw the movement before it was too late, the Archer's words stuck in his throat. Muffled by the hand which was pressing his neck with a loud thud into the wall.

"If you get anywhere near Stark or dare to harm him in any way. I'll make sure that you're going to kick the bucket in the most painful, and most horrible way you could ever imagine... You all might think that the Winter Soldier is gone, but believe me when I say; He's not. Don't take my words lightly because you're gonna regret it. Stay. The. Fuck. Away. From. Stark."  
James snarled, eyes blazing with rage. His hand around the Archer's neck squeezing tighter with every word.

Something in him had finally snapped. He was finally back in the States. There was no need to act all timed around those douchebags anymore. He could do whatever the fuck he deemed right. An right now, the right thing to do was to protect Stark from those Idiots. None of them would get the chance to get near the Inventor as long as he was around, he would make sure of that.

"Bucky! Let him go!"  
Steve yelled while the others got into attack position. The Archer beneath his hand desperately struggling to get free, but it was a hopeless endeavor. 

"Did you understand that?"  
James snarled, digging his fingers deeper into the man's flesh and drawing blood. He ignored Steve's pleading and the yells of the others to let the Archer go.

"God damn, Bucky! Stop it! He'll suffocate!"  
Steve tried again, but James didn't stop. Just a bit tighter around the right points and the Archer's neck would break under the pressure, he thought delighted. A very tempting thought...

"I won't ask you again."  
He simply said, bringing his hand into the right position to end the pathetic Archer's life. No one would care about that guy anyways.

Clint's face started to turn blue, the heated red from before long gone. James could feel how the Archer's pulse beneath his hand started to slow down, his body starting to went limp.

"I- I- Under- Understand."  
The Archer managed to wheeze out, voice broken between desperate raps for air, tears forming in the corners of his eyes.

James let go, then. A little disappointed that the Archer would keep his sorry life... At least for now.

He turned away from the Archer with a pleased smile on his face. The Archer's eyes were screaming in fear as he slid down to the ground, coughing and wheezing for air. James' message had been very well delivered it seemed. None of these shitheads would dare to get anywhere near Stark if they hang onto their life... Well, at least when James was around. That was for sure.

"Good."  
He grinned with a predatory smile, eyes cold and filled with anger.  
"Now, if you'll excuse me, I've got enough of your shit-talk for one day. I would advise you to read the damn Accords before you continue to complain about Stark. They clearly state that Colonel Danvers will be in charge of our Team. And that's the decision of the Council, not Stark's. If you would have bothered to read the stuff you have signed you would know that. Maybe you would even know about the fact that the Avengers are divided into three separate Teams. Colonel Danvers is just one of the three Team Leaders. The other two are Dr. Stephen Strange and Stark himself. Therefore, Stark has no reason to fuck around with you guys since he most likely will never ever work with you guys again anyways. So, shut your stupid mouth if you don't know rats- shit about what's actually going on."  
With that, he turned away from them, starting for his room.

"Bucky! Wait you can't just-"  
Steve tried, but James door slammed shut before he could finish whatever nonsense he was about to spout, and James couldn't help but feel amused about that. Maybe those dickheads would finally get their asses up and read these damn accords. If not, the next days would become a hell of a lot more annoying than James had predicted them to be in the first place.

He could only hope that Shuri had managed to speak to the Council members about his request to be assigned to one of the other two Teams instead of the one Steve and the others were assigned to. If he would end up stuck with them... Well, it would certainly end up in a bloodbath.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Though I love the Fic's in which James is a self-loathing cutey who needs all the hugs in the world (and especially Tony's) I wanted my James to be a badass MF who knows exactly what he wants. Also, as you might have noticed; The Winter Soldier is not a second personality of James' in this one. James is aware of the things he did. Some he regrets others not so much. 
> 
> I hope you liked this chapter. Leave a comment if ya want. <3
> 
> PS. FRIDAYS suit is named after Riri Williams suit from the Ironheart comics. :)


	3. Chapter 3

It took a few hours before Carol Danvers, the assigned Teamleader of Steve's team, showed up to formally introduce herself to the new occupants of the compound. James could tell that the women played in a whole different league than most of them. She basically radiated power, pure determination, and a strong will. Qualities he once saw in Steve, too... Back then, when they were still kids. Qualities that Steve had twisted into something ugly and utterly depressing as time went by.

James thought there was a glimpse of sadness in her eyes. It was well hidden behind her energetic and friendly behavior but somehow he couldn't shake the feeling that her eyes were taunted with a dullness you only ever saw in people's eyes when they had lost someone important to them.

Stark's eyes had looked the same. That day when the man had learned the truth about his parents and about Steve's betrayal...

James knew that he wouldn't be able to forget Stark's expression from that day for the rest of his life, and that thought unsettled him greatly.

It wasn't the sadness in those beautiful brown eyes which had started to haunt him at night. It was the disappointment that reflected in them which wasn't even directed at him but Steve.

 _'I hope those eyes will never be directed at me...'_  
He had thought at that time, a sinking feeling spreading in his gut at the mere memory.

 _'As if he would ever look at you- How laughable. Not after the things you have done to him and his family.'_  
That traitorous voice in the back of his mind reprimanded with mirth.

He lost his train of thought when Steve and his stupid sidekicks started to complain about something Danvers must have said. He only realized now, that he hadn't even listened to the conversation that had presumably been going on for a while now. James wasn't sure how much time had passed since Danvers had introduced herself to the Team, but given how heated the mood had become, it must have been quite a while.

"I don't see why we have to do this. Everyone knows about our capabilities and skills. Why do we have to partake in one of these evaluation tests? This is just another way for Stark to mock us, isn't it?"  
The Witch sounded like one of these horrible kids which had a rather pointless argument with their mother about why they weren't allowed to eat sweets before breakfast. The Witch's voice annoyed James to no end. That irritating high pitched sound she made whenever she opened her damn mouth, had bothered him for a while now and James couldn't help but welcome the thought to just rip her damn vocal cords out of her fucking throat.

"Wanda has a point. Don't get me wrong Denvers but-"

"It's Captain Denvas, Mr. Rogers. I rightfully earned that title, unlike other people I know."  
The blond women intervened without hesitation. Her comment obviously directed at Steve.   
"And before you start to complain again; I don't want to discuss this topic any longer. You and your friends have signed the Accords, Mr. Rogers and therefore you are required to follow your Teamleader's orders. The Accords state clearly that every new member of the Avengers has to partake in the evaluation tests so that the current and new members have some insight into their new Teammate's abilities. These tests are held for a good reason. Though it might be true that you and your friends know about each other, it can hardly be said that this applies to the other members of the Avengers. And if I might remind you; Nowadays, the Avengers consist of more than just your Team alone. Therefore, you should be a little more considerate and stop questioning the Accords or **my** orders as **your** Teamleader."

"But-" Steve helplessly tried.

"I'm not done yet, Mr. Rogers. Please refrain from intervening."

 _'Oh ho, a fierce one. I like that.'_  
James chuckled at Steve's dumbfounded face, not caring that the man looked utterly disappointed because of his behavior.

"Since there will be times in which our Team will have to work with either Dr. Strange's or Dr. Stark's Team- possibly even both, it will only be of benefit to us to see the other various members of each Team in action as well."

Danvers had a point, there. Getting to know about each other's various strong traits and weaknesses was essential to win a fight in the first place. Good Teamwork depended on that knowledge.

"But, can't we just like, read their files? Why bothering with such unnecessary stuff? We just arrived. It would be nice to get a break first."  
Barton interjected, sounding as bored as he looked.

"Mr. Barton... Given that you obviously haven't even bothered to read the Accounts in the first place, I highly doubt that you will consider reading your new Teammate's files in the near future."

 _'Bullseye.'_  
Danvers definitely gave not one single shit about the complaints of these idiots.

"Furthermore, Mr. Barton-"  
Danvers continued.

"Wait. Hold on! Did you just-"  
Barton spat, obviously not happy with Danvers chiding innuendo.

"Mr. Barton. It seems you have the same problem as Mr. Rogers, here. Please refrain from interrupting me. This is the last time I will overlook this kind of behavior. Should I be interrupted again, and this applies to all of you, I might have to consider other measures to bring my point across."  
Carol threatened, the air around her starting to bristle with electricity.

It was clear as day that the conversation had found its end, but given how stupid those Idiots were, Danvers seemingly wanted to play it safe, just in case.

"Since this conversation is hereby declared as ended, I highly recommend that we should make our way to the training grounds. We're already late, thanks to this unnecessary argument. As your new Teamleader, I feel highly embarrassed about the fact that our Team will be late for its first training session."

With that, Danvers simply turned around, indicating for Steve and the others to follow her. The unsaid _'follow me in silence'_ hung heavy in the air.

"I can't stand her..."  
Wanda whined next to Steve, obviously unhappy with her new Teamleader.  
James knew that Wanda had easily wrapped Steve and Barton around her fingers. Playing the little girl in front of them had obviously paid off for her.  
"Everyone here is just mean to us. I bet Stark has told them to act this way towards us. He's punishing us for no reason and all these people are willingly helping him - disgusting. I bet he bribed them with money! That's the only reason why these people would support such a monster in the first place!"  
The Hydra bitch kept on whining.

"Yeah, right. Stark's money. Of course, that's the reason why everyone hates you guys. It's not because **you** guys are god damn **liars** , or because **you** have **wreak havoc** in another country and **hurt** countless **civilians** in the progress. Hell, and it had probably **nothing** to do with the fact that **you** then decided to make a **run** for it rather than **facing** the consequences of your actions. Oh, and don't forget about the Teammate you left behind to die. But, wait. That's probably not the reason, either. The Hydra bitch is probably right; It's definitely Stark's money. There's really no other reason for you to be hated."  
James snarled, unable to keep the words from crossing his lips. He didn't wait for an answer and simply turned around to start after Danvers. Killing them wasn't worth the trouble, at least for now. 

_'Get yourself together, damn it. You're not supposed to kill them before you got the chance to apologize.'_  
He told himself over and over again, his hands balled into fists at his side.

Steve caught up to him almost immediately, chiding him for his cold behavior towards Wanda and how he had called her a bitch. James didn't bother to listen to him. Steve was a lost cause, nothing more but wasted time and breath.

His former friend's words felt like a broken record. Repeating the same monotone and meaningless tone over and over again...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know this chapter is rather short but I promise the next one will be rather massive. :)


	4. Chapter 4

The way to the training grounds had been a silent one, and Carol thanked whoever was listening up there for granting her the little pleasure she found in that silence.

Her new Team was, to say it mildly, rather irritating and she couldn't help but curse inwardly for being stuck with such ignorant people. It wasn't just the fact that she despised Rogers and his friends for the things they had done to Stark. No. It was also the fact that these people had no respect towards anyone, showed not the slightest glimpse of guilt, and even had the guts to complain about their current situation as if they were facing some sort of cruel punishment.

And the worst thing among all was that they blamed Tony for their misdeeds. The man had done everything in his power to get these people back to the States. Not because he wanted them here nor because he needed them.  
It was because Stark knew about how terrible the outcome would be if those people were allowed to roam freely around and do as whatever the fuck they pleased. Tony had witnessed such a terrible outcome first hand and almost lost his life in the progress.

Carol couldn't help but grit her teeth at that terrible thought.  
She didn't know Tony for long, but the short amount of time they had spent together was enough for her to know that Tony was an honorable man. Memories of Rogers' harsh words towards Tony filled her mind, his unpleasant voice ringing in her ears.

_'Yeah. Big man in a suit of armor. Take that off, what are you?'_

_'I know guys with none of that and worth ten of you. I've seen the footage. The only thing that you really fight for is yourself. You're not the guy to make the sacrifice play. To lay down on the wire and let the other guy crawl over you.'_

_'Always a way out. You know you may not be a threat but you better stop pretending to be a hero.'_

She had watched the footage over and over again, had listened to every word only to realize that Rogers must have been either ignorant or just blind. There was no other reasonable explanation for such sheer stupidity on the man's part.

 _"He had been my Hero. I adored him since I was a little kid. But after all the things that happened, especially the things that happened to Stark..._  
_I can't bring myself to see Rogers in the same light as I have seen him before. I wasn't even the one who got betrayed by Rogers, yet it feels like he betrayed me, too."_  
Phil had said to her after she had watched the same scene for that felt like the hundredth time.  
_"Stark might be a weird one, someone who's unpredictable... But looking back at all the things he has done, the things he has done for me... I think I should have put my trust in Stark instead of Rogers."_

Phil had looked crestfallen, a sad smile on his face. The man had been newly brought back to life at that time. Normally he should have been happy to be alive, but getting to know about the things which had happened while he was gone had taunted that happiness.

Tony was a wonderful man. Someone who had sacrificed his life multiple times to save others. Not because he wanted to be a hero, not because he strived fame... He simply did it because it was the right thing to do.

It was sickening to know that Rogers and his friends had betrayed such a good and lovable person, so sickening that Carol felt the need to stay as far away from them as even possible.

She couldn't help the heavy sight that escaped her lips when they reached the door to the training grounds, earning her a bunch of irritated stares from Rogers and the others.

She stopped abruptly then, turning her attention from the door to her new Team.

"I will say this only **once** , so listen closely; **None of you** is allowed to get anywhere near Stark nor are you allowed to talk to him directly, is that clear?"  
The air around her felt static again. James could tell, standing this close to her.

"What the fuck? Is that some sort of fucking joke?"  
The Archer barked like a dog, lashing out like he always did. Carol found herself thinking about gaging the Archer right on the spot. That would certainly make her life easier.

"If we're not allowed to talk to Stark, how are we supposed to complain about our current living situation? I need new clothes, and since I've grown a bit since we left the compound he probably doesn't even know about my current size. How is Stark supposed to buy me new stuff like that?"  
Wanda whined, tears gathering at the corners of her eyes.

"Don't worry, Wanda. This must be another one of Tony's stupid jokes. I will make sure that Tony gets you new clothes."  
Steve assured the Witch, one of his reassuring smiles on his lips.

James rolled his eyes at that. How Steve could be so damn blind and not see that the Witch was using him was beyond him. Thankfully, Danvers seemed to be a decent person, not giving a single fuck about that bitchs fake tears nor Barton's complaints.

"May I ask how we're supposed to fight together if we're not allowed to talk to a fellow Avenger?"  
Natasha added, the only one who thought a little bit further ahead than the others and managed to see the real problem behind that restriction.

Carol sighed again. This time in utter resignation. James couldn't help but pity her. She had only spent less than half an hour with these dipshits but was certainly already fed up with them. James had endured these Idiots for almost a year and had contemplated killing either them or himself multiple times over that period. He got the feeling that Danvers' patience was a lot thinner than his. Probably a bad sign, at least for Steve and his friends. Maybe James would be lucky and Danvers would kill them for him?

"Read the damn Accords Natasha."  
James said, feeling that the last thing he could do was to give Danvers a hand in dealing with these idiots. She was his current Teamleader after all and maybe his future benefactor.  
"You guys signed them. So, you all agreed to the Councils terms regarding your return to the compound. All of us are forbidden to approach Stark. We are only allowed to approach him if it regards team activities like training or fighting together on the battlefield but this applies only if the situation deems it necessary and can't be avoided. If you want to talk to him about something that doesn't have to do with anything I mentioned, you can ask for an appointment with his current assistant Hope van Dyne who will then forward your request directly to Stark."

"Also, violating this rule will lead to a permanent suspension from the Avengers initiative. You will have to leave the compound immediately and you won't be allowed to come back nor to work as a Hero under the United States."  
Danvers added with a smirk on her lips. It was awfully obvious that the women hoped something like that would happen soon. James could relate to that. The sooner these stupid shit-heads would be thrown out of the Avengers initiative the better.

"So, since Mr. Barnes was so kind as to explain the situation to you guys, I think we should be ready to meet the others now."  
Carol said with a grin before she turned to open the door.

 _'Let the shitshow begin...'_  
James though bemused, starting right after her.

Among all the people in the room, James's eyes immediately focused in on Stark. The man looked definitely younger than before, the creases which had started to adorn his face were gone just like the heavy bags under his eyes. He hardly looked like a man in his fifties anymore which was odd. Had James to guess Stark's age he would have said that the man looked like he was in his mid-thirties. The severe contrast of Stark's new appearance stood even more out because the Inventor had chosen to stay right next to that old geezer from before and another guy who wore a long green leather coat which was too tight around certain places and therefore didn't left much space for the imagination.

The Tony Stark from a year ago had looked almost as old as that Constantine guy did now but... Now Stark looked around the same age as that guy with the green leather coat, maybe even close to James' own age if he didn't count the years he had spent in cryostasis.

Something was off about Stark but James train of thought was disturbed by the sudden outburst of Barton who stood right next to him.

"WHAT THE FUCK IS **HE** DOING HERE?!"  
The Archer yelled, pointing an accusing finger into the direction of the guy who was wearing that green leather coat.

"Is that some stupid joke?!"  
Natasha and Sam raged while pulling out their weapons.

"Bucky! Hurry you have to get behind me! That guy means trouble! He's the one who almost managed to kill us!"

_'Yeah. Right. That's why everyone is looking dumbfounded at **you** and not at the guy who's **obviously not an enemy** , given how comfortable Stark seems around that fella.'_

James mused and took a glance at Danvers to make sure he was right about his assumptions.

Danvers' face had twisted into something ugly. A mixture of shame, disbelief, and obvious embarrassment. The poor woman was so damn close to losing it, it wasn't even funny anymore.

Before any of the Idiots could do anything stupid, Danvers decided to intervene.

She stepped in front of Steve and the others, not even casting a glance at James who stood as far away from them as possible. It was some sort of acknowledgment on her part, James mused. The woman obviously didn't think of him as some sort of threat towards Stark and his companions.

"All of you. **Stay. There. You. Are.** This is an order!"  
Danvers snarled, the concrete beneath her feet cracking from the sheer outburst of power she let run free to make a point.

"But! He's the enemy! We can't just let him-"  
Steve tried to reason with her but was interrupted by a low chuckle.

"Oh my. I believe you and I both own Jessica fifty dollars, John. They apparently didn't read the Accords."  
The man in the green leather coat said bemused. His features were sharp, eyes glistening with something that resembled mirth and foreboding danger. Whoever that guy was, his appearance literally screamed to not mess around with him.

"Damn... Jessica will gloat about this for the next few years I guess." Constantine mumbled more to himself than to Loki.

"That brainwashing motherfucker killed our friend, damn it! Why the fuck are you all just standing around doing nothing?!"  
The Archer yelled again, his hand starting for one of his arrows.

James didn't really care about that, though. Whoever Barton was talking about wasn't of his concern anyway. His attention had solely stayed on Stark and he was adamant to keep it that way. The Inventor had visibly flinched away as soon as his eyes had spotted Steve and the others entering the room. James had noticed that right away and John and the other guy had noticed Stark's behavior, too, given that they had immediately shifted their positions in front of Stark, shielding the Inventor with their bodies.

"See? I told you they are even bigger idiots than Wade."  
Jessica called from somewhere behind Danvers when she suddenly entered the room, too.

"Whhhhhhaaaaaat? How can you say such a mean thing, Jess? I'm not stupid! I got just a few too many bullets to the brain! I'm going to punish you once I'm Hokage!"  
A guy in red spandex whined next to her, his voice a pitch too high for James liking. The man carried a few guns and swords but wasn't looking like he was a serious threat to anyone. Well, appearance can be deceiving at times. James wasn't stupid. If the guy had managed to become an Avenger without kissing Steve's ass, there must have been a good reason for him to be here. Stupid looking or not.

"Wade... You should really stop watching Naruto. I have to look up almost all of your references because otherwise, I have no idea what you're even talking about."  
A small boy which walked closely behind the red spandex sighed. Given his height and age, that boy must have been that Spider kid they had fought at the airport.

"Does anything he says ever make any sense?"  
Jessica sighed.  
"Last week that idiot told me that in the beginning, God created Deadpool. And that God looked back upon his creation and thought **'What the fuck did I just do?!'** that came practically out of nowhere. We were talking about dinner, nothing else."

"What the hell is going-"  
Natasha tried to intervene but to no avail.

"Well, my little Spider I could explain most of my super duper awesome references to you. But not here. These references of mine are super duper top secret and we don't want these bad guys over there to know about them, won't we? Sooooo, why don't we meet up at my bedroom and-"

No one had seen the kick coming. Not even James. Well, there was no way someone could have anticipated a kick coming out of literally nothing but thin air or rather, a strange-looking portal that had suddenly opened in the middle of the room.

"Wade, you piece of shit! How often do we have to crush your thick skull before you get it?! Peter is off limits! I swear one day I'm going to put the fuckin' remains of your useless brain in a jar and throw it into the ocean. Let's see if that regeneration power of yours can deal with that!"  
An angry-looking guy marched out of the portal, his feet dangerously hovering over the guys face he had just kicked into the concrete. The fact that he wore sunglasses in a room with hardly any natural light source was odd, but not as odd as the behavior of the spandex guy.

"Whoooopsssiiii, don't tell me you heard that, Matty-boy."  
The guy snickered.  
"Don't you think it's mean to take this lovely ship away from the readers? Peter and I are made for each other and the audience knows th-"  
The guys talking was immediately muffled by yet another kick to the face.

"Given how much you guys are on each other's throats lately one could conclude that it's **you guys** who are made for each other and desperately need to fuck."  
A grumpy voice emitted from within the portal and was followed by its owner; An even more grumpy looking guy with a red cape around his shoulders which suspiciously seemed to move on its own.

"Yep, Strange is right. I ship it and so does Jessica. I think Rhodes said he ships it, too?"  
A cheery-looking woman said to the guy who walked next to her out of the portal.

"Yeah. I did say that, Hope. Wade is obviously only hitting on Peter because he knows that Matt will punish him for it. Very kinky, and very predictable on Wade's part."  
Rhodes chuckled.

James was glad to see that the man was walking again. That Stark's best friend had been injured in a fight that Steve had started of selfish reasons hadn't bode well with his conscience.

" **Could someone explain to us what the fuck is going on!** You are all blabbering around while fucking **LOKI** stands right in front of your eyes. Why is everyone in this room acting as if that motherfucker belongs here!"  
Barton screeched, his arrow pointed directly at Loki's face now.

Carol stepped forward and gripped the Archer's arm with more force than probably necessary.  
" **Loki** , Mr. Barton, is a member of the Avengers, therefore it is perfectly reasonable for him to partake in the evaluation test as well as every other member of the Avengers initiative. I hardly advise you to stop threatening one of your Teammates with your arrow, Mr. Barton. Should something like that happen again, I will have to dismiss you from the team and report your behavior to the Council."

"Are you serious?"  
Natasha seethed next to Clint.  
"Loki? An Avenger? He's a murderer!"

"And so am I."  
James snarled right back at her. Surprising everyone in the room.

  
"I killed countless innocent people, yet I'm here; Standing right in front of one of the victims of my actions."  
He pointed a finger at Stark who hadn't said anything until now.  
The Inventors gaze met James briefly and it took everything from James to not flinch at the sight. He had thought he would find hatred in those pretty brown eyes but instead, there was nothing but resignation reflecting in them.

"Bucky, don't say that! It wasn't your fault! Hydra made you do it. It wasn't the real you, it was the Winter Soldier-"

"I am the god damn Winter Soldier! Why don't you get it into that thick head of yours?! I killed all these people. I killed Stark's parents! Their blood is on my hands..."  
James sighed deeply. He suddenly felt so very tired. Stark's resigned eyes made him feel all various unpleasant things. Why couldn't the man just hate him? Why couldn't he just lash out at James and kill him right on the spot? He could have dealt with the man's hatred but utter resignation? How was he supposed to deal with that?

"But Bucky..."  
Steve tried again and James couldn't stand that knowing look on his former friend's face. As if that selfish idiot could relate to him in any way! Steve knew nothing about him!

"Stop it. Just don't..."  
James took a steadying breath before he pointed his fingers at the others.  
"Every single one of you. You are all murderers... The Hydra bitch killed countless of people. The Archer and Natasha did so too, even sold out their own friends without a care in the world. There's a lot of blood on your hands too, Steve... What I'm trying to say is; Why are **we** entitled to get a second chance but that Loki guy over there is not?"

The room fell silent at that, all eyes suddenly directed at James.  
It felt like time itself had stopped and no one dared to say a single word.

James felt like an eternity had passed before a sudden heartfelt laugh reverberated through the room. It was a pleasant sound, one that made him want to laugh, too.

His eyes drifted from Steve to the direction from which the sound was coming and James felt his body frozen in place when he locked eyes with Stark. The Inventor had been the one who had started to laugh like a madman, his eyes glistening with mirth when he took a step forward, and then another. Suddenly standing right in front of James' personal space.

"Who would have thought that Snowflake here is the only decent person among Carol's team?"  
Stark winked apologetic at Carol, who in turn flipped him the finger.

"FRIDAY was right. You sure are full of surprises. Come on, Snowflake."

  
Tony chuckled while poking his index finger into James' chest without a care in the world.  
"We wasted enough time with this bullshit. Let's get to the main event before we all die of old age."

With that being said, Stark started for the training ground but stopped shortly after he noticed that James wasn't following him.  
"What? Don't tell me you're glued to the spot, Snowflake?"  
He smirked. And James realized that it wasn't one of Stark's trademark smiles. It was an earnest smile... And it was directed at him, and only him.

Without thinking twice his body moved on its own. Leaving Steve and the others far behind him. His gaze entirely focused on the man in front of him.

He could hear Steve yelling something after him, heard how the others still kept complaining about Loki but he didn't care about all that. 

There was just one thought on his mind while he kept his gaze fixated on Stark;

_'Maybe, just maybe there's still a chance for me to be forgiven.'_  
  



	5. Chapter 5

This...

This was not the training ground, James realized bemused when Stark had taken a sudden turn to the left and guided James through various halls and rooms until they reached a rather large room that wasn't even close to their original goal anymore. They had even lost the others at some point, though James mused that that was definitely on purpose.  
James had noticed right away that the Inventor's Teammates had decidedly walked in front of Steve and his friends to keep Stark and James from their view. And at some point, the distance between them had grown further and further away because the guy dressed in leather had walked undeniably slow and had taken a wrong turn when James and Strak had almost been out of sight.

It was obvious that the man clad in leather had done this on purpose. James had seen the mirth in his eyes when their gaze had met, and the man had then decidedly turned left instead of right with a huge grin plastered on his face. Stark's teammate was obviously fooling around with Steve and his friends, they simply hadn't noticed yet.

At that, James had to outright chuckle even though the thought of this being all a well-planed trap to kill him dared to cross his mind for a fleeting second. He dismissed the thought with a slight shake of his head. If he were to die today, he didn't care as long as the Inventor would be the one who killed him. That seemed only fair after all that James had done to the man.

After a while, Stark stopped in front of a gray door which was located at the end of the floor they had currently followed down. The door seemed a bit larger in size than the other ones that James had seen in passing.

The Inventor opened the door with a small key which he had pulled out from one of the pockets of his jeans and walked in, ushering James to follow him with a lazy hand motion. The room was rather plain looking, a big round wooden table, probably handcrafted, was standing in the center of the room surrounded by comfortably looking chairs. The table looked as if it was from an entirely different world and didn't fit into the plain, almost boring looking gray room at all. The wood it was made of had a strange dark color, almost looking black in the dim light. Strange carvings were engraved on the surface, too. Resembling some sort of runes which seemed to radiate with an odd golden shine.

James couldn't help but chuckle at the sight.

"Don't laugh. I know how this looks."  
Stark sighed before he took a seat at the far left of the room, and gestured for James to do the same.

"I just wondered where you left Excalibur, your Majesty."  
James grinned and bowed slightly before he started towards the seat next to Stark.

"Well, never let your resident Norse deity read a book about the Legends of King Arthur..."  
Stark answered absentmindedly, flinching slightly with every step James got closer to him. His eyes were fixated solely on James and his movements, a sudden panic radiating from them.

James stopped in his tracks, nervousness spreading in his body like an illness. Stark's gaze had been calculating the whole time, but now it seemed like the man was weighing his options. His body posture almost screamed flight or fight, and James couldn't tell why. He turned slightly, awaiting to find Steve and the others standing right behind him, but there was no one there who could have frightened the man to such an extent expect...

_'Oh...'_

The sudden realization hit him like a brick straight to the face and he could feel how his own body had started to tremble. He could feel the sweat drench his skin, his heart throbbing in his chest as if it was about to burst. He could hear his body scream in agony, pleading him to run from those vibrant eyes which seemed to stare right into the abyss of his soul. His fingers curled into fists at his sides, nails digging into the rough skin of his palms.

Without thinking twice, he turned around, taking the seat that was opposite of Stark's and therefore the farthest seat away from the Inventor.  
Stark didn't relax right away, but James noticed how the tension slowly seemed to leave the Inventor's body.

_'I'm not allowed to get closer...'_

The gutwrenching feeling that spread through his body was worse than the pain he had felt when he had lost his arm, even worse than the constant pain his artificial arm caused him every day.

James' eyes fixated on the carvings on the table, not daring to look up because he was afraid to meet the Inventor's gaze. It was odd, really. How he never felt afraid when confronted with certain death, or the corpses which lay before him, staring at him with those dead eyes while an unspoken curse lay on their bloodstained, pale blue lips.

Yet, in the face of Howard's son, he couldn't help but feel frightened.

James had made a mistake; He had thought he could be forgiven and had become careless.

Of course, he wasn't allowed to approach the man. After all the things Stark had to endure because of him, how on earth could James have thought, even for the slightest moment, that he could be forgiven?

The Inventor hadn't killed him on sight, had even acted friendly towards him, but that was all it was; An act. And James had been stupid enough to assume that this here, this whole working together and living under the same roof thing, could become something that wouldn't end up in a tragedy. Something that would give his life some sort of meaning.

Hell. It must have cost Stark a lot to keep his cool in front of the man who killed his parents, to approach him and talk to him like nothing ever happened, probably only for the reason to keep the peace in his own home.

God. James felt so stupid. Of course, the man had to act at least somewhat friendly towards him. They would be working with each other, protecting their backs, and fight side by side but not because Stark really wanted them to...

No. Stark had simply no other choice, that was all. And so the man had taken the first step, drawing an invisible line right there and then and James had just crossed it without thinking at all.

_'I'm the worst...'_

James sighed heavily, the air which was leaving his lungs felt like glass shards, ripping at his lungs and leaving a bleeding, fucking mess behind in their wake. His trembling human hand darted up to his constricting chest, gripping the fabric of his shirt tightly. No good. This wasn't good.  
He could feel the panic rise, how it slowly consumed him. He hated those moments, hated how he felt trapped in his own sick and twisted mind. Because at these times, he felt vulnerable the most.

In the distance, he could hear the rustling of clothes and footsteps that slowly approached him.  
For a moment, he cursed inwardly. If Steve was about to see him in this state, the man would surely blame Stark for it, and that was something James couldn't let happen.  
Because it wasn't Stark who had messed things up. It had been him.

He flinched hard when the chair next to him creaked with a shrill sound. His breath starting to come out even more uneven and raspy than before. James could feel his vision blur, how the room surrounding him slowly distorted into a black mess.

"... It's okay."  
The voice next to him said in a gentle tone.

James startled at the unfamiliar, yet comforting voice. He dared to take a glance to his side, his breath hitching when he realized that the voice belonged to Stark who was now sitting right next to him, even though the man kept a rather large distance between them.

Stark looked at him with something that resembled guilt and concern, something James didn't felt worthy of. He could feel words forming on his lips but his voice refused to carry them. James wasn't even sure what he had wanted to say in the first place, he just felt the need to say anything, whatever it was, just to fill the silence.

Stark must have seen something on his face because the man narrowed his eyes at James, a barely audible sigh escaping from his lips.

"Barnes, it's alright. You didn't do anything wrong. I shouldn't have reacted-"

Whatever it was what Stark wanted to say died on his lips the moment the door swung open, revealing a rather annoyed, yet apologetic-looking Constantine which was followed by Steve who was angrily trodding towards Stark.

"That was **your** idea, wasn't it?!"  
Steve yelled, pointing an accusing finger at Stark.  
The Inventor shrank back into his seat almost immediately. Raw fear crossing over his features as soon as Steve had started to walk in the man's direction.

James wanted to stop him, but his legs wouldn't obey him. That panic attack had certainly taken its toll on him, and James gritted his teeth in utter disgust at himself for being yet again, useless as fuck.

Thankfully, Steve never managed to get too close to Stark.

The man clad in leather had reacted fast, pulling the man back with such an ease that it almost looked comical to James.

"Oh my. Didn't I already apologize for my mistake? I'm afraid I'm still not as familiar with this environment as I would like to. Mistakes like this happen from time to time, dear Captain. There's no helping it. It's not Anthony's fault that I lost sight of them."  
The man purred with a shark-like grin on his face, placing his body in front of Stark so that the Inventor was shielded from Steve's sight.

It was clear as day, that he wasn't sorry at all, and the way he towered in front of Steve basically promised a painful death if the man would so much as dare to get any closer to Stark.

Steve was about to say something but Constantine beat him to it.  
"What happened, happened. In the end, we reached our destination. Don't make a fuss and get your ass seated in one of these chairs already. We don't have all day."

"I thought we were supposed to head to the training ground,"  
Natascha's voice peaked up from somewhere behind Steve where she was standing right next to Sam and Scott.  
"Why did we have to come here, then?"  
She pointed out, trying to sound slightly confused but ultimately couldn't fool James with her act, nor anyone from Stark's team.

"That..."  
Stark, began. His voice wavering slightly.  
"That was my idea. I decided to change plans because FRIDAY said you guys complained to Carol about being tested right after arriving. So, I simply decided it would be best to just introduce each other for the time being."

"Is that so?"  
Natascha narrowed her eyes at Stark but refrained from saying anything else.  
The fact that Stark refused to look at her spoke volumes.

Unfortunately, Clint couldn't leave the matter very well alone and decided that now was the best time for him to join in on the conversation.

"Yeah, right. And then you suddenly went lost with the one person you already tried to kill once. Don't bullshit us, Stark. You definitely gave Loki order to lead us away from Bucky so that you could end what you have started."  
The Archer seethed, taking a stand next to Steve.

"I didn't start-"

"Don't even try to deny it, Stark. We all know how unstable and dangerous you are. Ultron already proofed that."  
Clint sneered, cutting Stark off before he could even so much as defend himself.

The man clad in leather, Loki, tilted his head slightly, grinning at the Archer like a total madman.

The motion alone silenced Clint. A streak of fear ghosting over the Archer's face. Whatever happened between those two, it was obvious to James that the Archer feared Loki.

"I haven't done anything to him, he's perfectly-"  
Stark started but was cut off yet again.

"Yeah. Haven't. That doesn't mean you wouldn't! Clint is right. Stark can't be trusted. He's a killer after all!"  
The Witch yelled, her voice made Stark flinch even harder than Steve's had.  
"He killed countless people before! Who guarantees us that he doesn't do it again?!"

James moved his face slightly to study the look on Stark's face, who had started to tremble in his seat, face growing paler by the minute. Stark was about to lose it, too. Just like James had only minutes ago, the Inventor was about to suffer a huge panic attack. James wanted to scream at Steve and the others to cut it, to leave Stark the fuck alone. But his words were still dying on his lips. Instead, he carefully reached for Stark's thigh beneath the tabletop. This could backfire right into his face, but James refused to think about that now. He could engulf in self-pity later when the man would probably never look at him again.

He placed his human hand cautiously on the man's thigh, carefully to not spook the Inventor and send him running.

Stark's eyes went huge for a moment, his body frozen in place like a deer caught in the headlights, but he didn't flinch away from the contact, nor did he seem to run from it any given moment.

The ranting of Steve and the others went on, but James didn't bother to listen anymore. He forced his lips to form an apologetic smile, which he hoped would be recognized by the inventor as such.

Stark stared at him for that felt like an eternity before he nodded slightly, a sign for James that the man wasn't about to lose it anymore.

 _'Progress'_  
James thought, feeling suddenly exhausted. His fingers started to absentmindedly run soothing circles over the man's thigh. Soft and gentle, as if to say _'It's okay, you don't have to face this alone'_. His mother had done the same thing for him when he was still a kid. It was one of his most vivid memories of her and he hated the fact that sometimes he couldn't even remember her face anymore.

Stark's breath hitched slightly before he seemed to relax into the touch; Slowly but surely. He was still a little bit tense, but not as much as before so James counted that as a win.

The heated conversation around them had almost been forgotten by James until one of the many voices overlapping each other started to basically scream.

"Could all of you shut your goddamn mouth already and take a fuckin' seat?! I don't have all day for this shitshow!"  
The woman called Jessica shouted, looking pointedly at Wanda and Clint before she lazily sat down at one of the chairs closest to the door.  
The guy with the sunglasses who hadn't said much since James had first seen him took the seat next to her, happily followed by the fella who wore that red spandex suit, which had the smell of old dried blood ingrained deep into the fabric.

"Jazz is 'bout to kick some ass!"  
The spandex guy said in a sing-song voice and somehow managed to kiss the sunglass guy on the cheek before sitting down only to earn a punch straight to the face which knocked him from his chair.

"Matt, how could you do this to me?! I thought you loved me? The audience thought you loved me, too! You can't do this to me, the Author already ships us!"  
The spandex guy whined while laying on the floor. No one, except for the teenage boy who looked rather confused, seemed to be bothered about what just happened, and simply ignored the crying man on the floor.

"Jessica is right. We don't have time for pointless accusations. There's no need to make a fuss over this more than necessary. I admit that it wasn't okay of Tony to change the plan just like that but it certainly wasn't his fault that we lost sight of him and Sergeant Barnes and managed to lose them in the progress. I'm also rather certain that Loki didn't lead us in the wrong direction on purpose."  
She said with a huff, even though James could hear the faint undertone in her voice which implied what she wasn't buying Loki's shitty excuse for a damn moment given how she stared the leather-clad man down with a pointed look of disappointment.

"So take a seat, please."  
Carol finally said in an arbitrating tone gesturing for Steve and all of the others who still hadn't taken a seat to follow her advice and to sit down.

It was obvious that Steve and the others had more to say, but for once they stopped acting like spoiled children and started for a seat.

To James' (and Tony's) horror, Steve aimed for the seat right next to Stark.

 _'Oh, you gotta be fuckin' kidding me!'_  
James seethed.  
_'As if Steve Rogers would ever stop acting like a child!'_

Before James could call Steve over to sit by his side instead of Stark's, a blur of red flew straight past Steve, engulfing the chair right next to Stark. Steve looked as dumbfounded as James when the man with the strange outfit passed Steve by and ordered the red Cape to move away. It did as it was told and the man then took the seat for himself, the cape happily wriggling behind him like some sort of newly adopted puppy.

"Excuse me, that seat belongs to me."  
Steve snapped, but the man simply looked at him in amusement.

"I believe my cape thinks overwise. Unfortunately, it has a will of its own and doesn't listen to me. If it wants me to sit here, I have no other choice but to obey. It can't be helped."  
He simply shrugged and then pointedly looked away from Steve, ending the conversation before it had even begun.

Steve gritted his teeth and turned away, starting for the seat next to James. His face visibly fell when he realized that that seat had also been taken by Constantine in the meantime.

He was about to complain again but Constantine's look was warning enough for Steve to keep whatever shit he was about to spill better to himself.

In the end, everyone else had already taken a seat, leaving Steve with the only chair left available which happened to be the one furthest away from James and Stark.

"You know,"  
Constantine said, not bothering to look at James.  
"Your buddy and his friends are even bigger jerks than Satan himself but..."

He lifted his eyes up to look at James for a short moment of time before his eyes wandered down to where James' hand still lay on Stark's thigh.

"At least **you** seem to be a pretty decent fella."

As if burned by the realization, James pulled his hand away in a hurry, earning a confused stare from Stark who thankfully refrained from saying anything.

Constantine on the other hand chuckled amused at the scene. A devilish grin plastered on his face.

_'The youngsters these days are just too easy to tease.'_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry for not updating for a while. I'll try to update on a more regular basis from now on, though I can't promise anything. 
> 
> Also; James is kinda not badass in this Chapter, but I think that's okay. At some point, all of us crack under the pressure of our own feelings. James is just slightly better at enduring it like, a few decades better than anyone else.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> In this chapter, an innocent table will be abused. Please skip this chapter if you can't handle violent acts towards random furniture.

After nearly fifteen minutes of pointless blabbering from all sides, which eventually got silenced by Jessica's foot hitting the table surface with full force, everyone became quiet enough for Danvers to finally start the meeting.

"Now that I am having the attention of everyone let us start today's meeting. But before we begin, I have to inform you of the reason why Thor and Doctor Banner, as well as Valkyrie, are absent from today's meeting and won't join us soon. I was informed by Doctor Banner that due to the recent circumstances regarding the rebuilding of Asgard, the decision was made that the three of them will stay on Asgard for the time being. Thor promised to aid us in battle if required, which means as long as Loki doesn't call for Thor, I am afraid they won't join us unless it is deemed necessary and can't be helped otherwise."

"Awww, that's a bummer. I wanted to grope that sexy blonde's manboobs so badly since Matt won't let me touch his nice and well defined-"

The Spandex guy went flying again, and James couldn't help but admire the fast reaction time of the guy with the sunglasses who had thrown the punch almost immediately and with a precision second to none.

What was even more fascinating was the fact that no one except for maybe Steve and his friends seemed to mind that much if the Spandex guy was okay or not. Most of the new Avengers just rolled their eyes at the scene, almost, as if it were a day-to-day occurrence.

"May I ask what you mean when you say _'rebuilding Asgard'_? If Thor needs our help, we would gladly give it. He's our friend after all."  
Natascha said, fake concern lacing her words, probably in an attempt to sound like a caring friend. Her round, almost afraid looking eyes would have fooled lesser man, but not James. He could see how her eyes had landed almost immediately on the leather-clad guy. A thick layer of suspicion radiating from her eyes, mixed with an unspoken threat of murder. It was obvious that she blamed the man for whatever had happened on Asgard.

"They haven't read a damn thing, haven't they?"  
The man with the red cape who had successfully stolen the seat next to Stark mumbled with a heavy sigh, sounding more than just fed up with everything and everyone around him by this point.

Stark snickered, a playful smile plastered on his lips when he leaned into the personal space of the man, firmly pressing his body to the other's side.  
"Told you they would fuck you up real good, Honey."  
Stark whispered in a sing-song voice, barely audible for James to hear.

The other man snorted at that, suddenly looking slightly bemused.  
"Well, as it seems, the idiotism of the people around me never ceases to amaze me these days. I suppose I should have listened to your endless complaints and babbling for once in a while, Stark."

Seeing the Inventor so close to someone else lit something in James he couldn't quite explain or put a name on. His hand had suddenly started to spasm, an odd feeling of resentment spreading through his body. It was a familiar feeling, like when Steve called him Bucky instead of James or the uncomfortable emptiness that flooded his mind whenever his hand reached for his gun, only to come up empty-handed because he wasn't allowed to take it with him.

He couldn't tell why, but seeing Stark getting all friendly with that guy bothered him for whatever silly reason and it didn't sit well with him.  
Maybe it was because of his lack of sleep, or because he hadn't eaten much in days...  
Hell, maybe he was finally getting over the edge and starting to go insane? Who knows?  
But the feeling was there, accompanied by a fleeting thought; _Why can't it be me?_

"You may, but I am afraid we don't have the time to answer your question right now, Agent Romanoff."  
Danvers' answer startled James from his thoughts, letting his gaze wander away from Stark's conversation and to where Natasha was sitting.  
"If you want an answer, please consider reading the Accords as well as the files the Council so kindly prepared and send to you. The Council, Doctor Stark, and I put great effort into those files to make sure that you guys would have access to all information regarding the Avengers initiative and its members at all times.  
I would like to suggest that all of you read them as soon as possible if you haven't already done so. You will find a handful of useful information in there for example, why Mr. Laufeyson got pardoned and is now a very appreciated part of the Avengers initiative."  
Danvers said with a finality that didn't leave any room for complaints.

James couldn't tell for sure, given that he had just recently met the women, but he got a distinct feeling that there was a thick layer of sarcasm hidden beneath her words, obviously taunting Natascha for her incapability to read simple files which had been so kindly provided to her.

Natasha's dark face only affirmed James' suspicion, given her cold gaze that was now firmly placed on Danvers instead of Loki. It was a look that camouflaged a bubbling, rising hatred. Disgust perhaps? James wasn't sure. Maybe Natasha began to realize that her acting skills wouldn't work on Danvers, nor on any of the other occupants of the room sans Steve and his friends.

"If that was all, I think it's best to start this meeting with an introduction round, given that you haven't read the given files about each of your new teammates yet. Like that, we'll all get to know each other on a more personal level. I believe that this will also be a great opportunity to strengthen our teamwork."  
Another sarcastic jab from Danvers, well hidden beneath carefully laid out words that almost made James cackle. It was fascinating how that woman made it seem like she genuinely cared about them becoming a part of the team, while in truth she was only fooling around with them on a rather intellectual level.

"Since there are a lot of people involved, I think it would be best if we introduce ourselves teamwise. So, I suggest team Alpha will go up first and start our little introduction round. Doctor Strange, if you and your team members would be so kind as to move to the front, please?"  
Danvers smirked at the man who in turn glared at her in utter annoyance.

"Fine..."  
He huffed out through gritted teeth, starting for the wall that was farthest away from the table and therefore the least crowded place for a bunch of people to stand right next to each other.

The shuffling of clothes and moving chairs filled the air when Strange's team members made their way up to the man, most of them looking just as annoyed as the man himself.

"I am Doctor Stephen Vincent Strange, former neurosurgeon, team leader of Team Alpha, Sorcerer Supreme, and Master of the Mystic Arts. I'm also the protector of the New York Sanctum as well as Earth's protector from any new inter-dimensional threats."  
Strange said without blinking an eye, his displeased sounding voice rattling the words down in utter annoyance. He even had the guts to roll his eyes at the end of his introduction, bringing the point further across that he would like to be anywhere but here.

"These are the other members of Team Alpha."  
He gestured to the people who had lined up at his sides, urging them to introduce themselves as well but one glance at the guy with the sunglasses and Jessica made it clear that they wouldn't do a rat's shit unless they were forced to...  
Well, James mused even if someone would go as far as to force them they would probably rather die than introduce themselves to Steve and his band of idiots.

Strange pinched the bridge of his nose, unmistakably contemplating the possibility of just flipping everyone in the room the finger and just leave but ultimately, seemed to decide against it.

Instead, he took it upon himself to introduce the two reluctant acting members of his team.  
"The man to my right is Matthew Michael Murdock also known as Daredevil, though he prefers it to be called Matt. He is Doctor Stark's lawyer and works, then not needed as an Avenger, at his law firm _'Nelson and Murdock'_. He might be blind due to an accident in his childhood but don't make the mistake and take him lightly; His other four senses are heightened to superhuman levels. That and his combat skills are making him a deadly opponent on the battlefield."

Strange said while ignoring the flirtatious heckling of the spandex guy in the background.

"As for the women right next to Matt... Her name is Jessica Campbell Jones; A private investigator who happens to be a superhuman."

The fact that Strange didn't reveal much more about the woman spoke volumes. It was clear as day that the women had no desire to get involved with anyone from Danvers team nor for them to know a single fuck about her. Strange had known that too given that he hadn't really revealed anything about her besides her name and job.

"Guess I am next, then."  
The Pettit looking women with the stern-looking face which screamed _'don't mess with me'_ said.

"My name is Hope van Dyke. A few of you might know me given that I am  
a former chairwoman of the board of Pym Technologies."  
She said all business-like but then her gaze landed on Scott the room suddenly started to feel decidedly colder. James could have sworn there was a heavy layer of disappointment in her eyes, mixed with something that resembled disgust and mostly anger. The way her lips curled into a snarl when she continued would have brought lesser men to their knees.

"Unlike most of you, I am just a normal human being operating a suit which is called Wasp in order to fight. And unlike a certain person, I didn't steal my suit but earned it because I proved myself worthy of it. I guess one could say I'm a bit similar to Anthony in that matter... Well, before some people decided to fuck him over and he had to become-"

Whatever Hope was about to say died on her lips when the lights of the room started to flicker, the air frizzling with electricity and pressure.

Steve and the others were mumbling to each other, something about that Thor guy, but James realized almost instantly that it wasn't that Thor fella who caused whatever was happening because everyone else in the room quickly glanced over at the Inventor right next to him.

Most of them looked at Stark with concern while Hope looked embarrassed and utterly guilty at the same time, just like a kicked puppy who had managed to disappoint its owner.

James was just about to take a glance at the Inventor, curious as to why everyone seemed to be so concerned about Stark. He stilled in his tracks, though when a rasped **_'don't'_** from Stark made him reconsider his decision. Instead, his gaze landed on the table surface which had started to splinter under Stark's fingertips. The man's nails had dug deep into the surface of the ancient-looking tabletop, demolishing it with inhuman ease and strength.

"Hope..."  
Constantine said from beside James', his gaze transmitting some sort of hidden message to the women which James could only guess was about the Inventor right next to him.  
"If you're done, mind making room for someone else? I don't want to waste the whole day with this shitshow."

"Ah, sure. I'm really sorry. I didn't mean to... Take so long, I guess."  
Hope said sounding defeated, the _'I'm really sorry'_ obviously directed at Stark rather than anyone else.  
"Actually, that was about it. I don't have much more to say about myself so I guess it is Peter's turn now?"

She smiled awkwardly at the Teenager who in turn returned the smile even more awkwardly. The general mood was definitely at its lowest by now and everybody knew. Everybody sans the group of Idiots who were still oblivious to what just happened around them and kept on mumbling about that Thor guy.

The young boy who introduced himself next, called Peter Parker revealed that James already suspected; The boy had been that kid from before that had fought against him at the Airport, the flabbergasted _'You have a metal arm? That is awesome, dude!'_ coming to the forefront of James' mind almost instantly as if the words had only been spoken to him yesterday.

The kid babbled on for what felt like hours but no one seemed to mind except Clint and Steve who rolled their eyes almost simultaneously every time the kid went offtopic to admire Stark, his work, and generally everything that revolved around the Inventor and his person.

James hadn't been a fan of talking much since his fall from the bridge but for whatever reason, he enjoyed listening to others. The constantly talking of someone else soothed his nerves and he felt lesser on the edge of losing himself in unwanted thoughts the longer the other person kept on talking. Seeing that Stark's hands had curled away from the destroyed tabletop while Peter talked on endlessly made James think that the man must have enjoyed the distraction as well. Only in the far back of his mind did James wonder how Stark's fingers had managed to stay so pristine-looking after his stunt with the tabletop but he decided to pay it no further mind. Instead, he continued listening to Peter, a small, content smile on his lips. 

When Peter finally finished his introduction, everybody except Strange made their back to their seats. Strange lingered for a moment, telling the others that Thor was also a member of Team Alpha and that Team Alpha, therefore, consisted of a total of six people.

Somehow, that statement felt off.  
James couldn't tell why but something about the fact that Strange had stressed the part about having six people in his team didn't add up to the rest of that had been said.

James' train of thought came to a halt when the person next to him started to move and James instinctively followed the motion.

A weight on his shoulder stopped him in his tracks and pulled him back down onto the chair.

"Easy, pal. He's not going to disappear on you."  
Constantine, who had used James' shoulder as some sort of support to lift himself out of his chair said.  
"It's our turn."  
He simply stated and then started for the exact same spot where Team Alpha had just stood mere seconds ago.

Stark's introduction had played out exactly as James had anticipated; It turned out to be a total disaster thanks to Steve and his bands of Idiots who interrupted and badmouthed the man at every given chance.  
It was an impossible task for the man to finish a single sentence without someone intervening or mumbling unrelated shit about him in the progress.

Stark's face had gone pale and ill-looking as soon as he had started talking and the pointless blabbering around him only added fuel to the fire, making his hands tremble at his sides. His gaze had, at some point, fixated onto the table in front of him, staring the poor and already demolished thing down like it had wronged him on a personal level and James couldn't help but feel sorry for this one of a hell unlucky piece of furniture. If looks could kill...

Not even five sentences later and Stark gave up on introducing himself to his rather unwilling audience, prompting Loki to take over.

Though... The leather-clad man faced the same problems as Stark.

The god of fire and lies couldn't finish a single sentence without Barton interrupting and calling him a dirty murderer. But unlike Stark who had started to look paler by every passing second, Loki had just smirked throughout all the insults that had been thrown at him with that devilish smirk of his which promised a world of unspoken horrors and pains.

James would have been concerned about Loki's smile if he hadn't been occupied with watching Stark. His gaze not leaving the man for a second. Though Stark looked worse for wear after he had tried to introduce himself, it didn't look like the man was about to suffer another panic attack.  
James mused it was because of Loki, who had repositioned himself at one point so that his body stood right in front of Stark's, shielding the man from Steve's line of view. The spandex guy on the other hand had taken off one of his gloves, revealing scarred and burned-looking skin underneath it. The man had then taken hold of Stark's hand, discreetly interlacing their fingers in a soothing manner. It eventually grounded Stark, his intense gaze on the table morphing into something less concerning and murderous.

 _'He's using the skin contact to calm him down...'_  
James thought distantly, the unpleasant feeling from before starting to rise in his chest yet again.

The old man introduced himself next, sounding as bored as he probably felt.  
"John Constantine. Occult detective. Black Magician, I guess. That's all. **Deadass** you're up next..."

 _'That... Was decidedly short.'_  
James snickered to himself.

"Hey! Don't just introduce me as **Deadass** , will ya?! I'm **Dead-#@%$-pool**! Not **Deadass**!"  
The spandex guy whined.  
"Hey? Heyyyy? HEY?! Are you even listening to my angelic voice, old Johny boy? Ohhhhh... Come on! Don't pretend to be deaf, old geezer. I'm not mad at you for insulting me! Since you're only slightly less sexy than me, I'll forgive you, honey! Come on give atta boy here a kiss so we can make-"

James didn't know that was more disturbing;  
Deadpool? The fact that Loki and Constantine had moved without everyone noticing? Or that both of them had decided to punch the spandex guy at the exact same time?

"I told you to behave, didn't I?"  
Loki seethed at the body in front of him, looking highly annoyed, a frown firmly placed on his face.

"Come on Loki-Doki you can't just penetrate me like that without asking for my prem-"  
And there it was, the awful sound of a well-deserved kick to the gut that definitely managed to damage a lot of organs in the progress and unquestionably a few bones, too.

"Ugh, Loki, don't tell me you're into **THAT**! Kinky." Deadpool wheezed while earing another kick to the gut.

"Loki, Constantine. I know he's a pain in the ass but would you please stop beating him to death?"  
Danvers cleared her throat, looking decidedly less composed than before. "You all know the rule; No one is allowed to kill Deadpool indoors. We all agreed on that after that goddamn kitchen debacle."

Sighing, as if remembering something utterly disturbing, Danvers continued.  
"The man currently decorating the floor to our feet is Wade Winston Wilson, better known as Deadpool - The Merc with a Mouth. He is the fourth, and currently last member of Team Beta. Besides his big mouth, Wade got inhuman healing abilities, so strong that we haven't found a successful way to shut him up, yet. I guess one could say he's practically immortal given that he's also not aging."

"Damn right! Bet hardcore fans are already thinking about that wonderful X-Force encounter I'll have around 800 years in the future! Sadly, only Loki's hot ass, and my favorite Mechanic will be around to witness this wonderful encounter."  
The spandex guy said to no one in particular, winking at thin air.

"As if I would waste my precious time on such a lousy creature as you."  
The Trickster god sneered, gracefully making his way back to his seat. Constantine and Stark following right after him.

"Great, just leave me alone with that idiot, then."  
Stark mumbled behind Loki, who in turn smiled a cheapish smile at the man when he sat down.

That... That was odd. 

Deadpool hadn't spilled who that _'favorite Mechanic'_ of his was, yet, Stark automatically assumed the statement was about him and had promptly uttered a complaint.

That in itself wouldn't have been odd, but Deadpool was referring to a man who would be still alive 800 years in the future...  
So, why would Stark make the assumption that Deadpool had talked about him, rather than someone entirely else?

"-turn now."

As far as James knew, Stark was a common man apart from his incredible genius, astonishing looks, and nonexistent self-preservation skills...

"-your turn now."

Soo, why would he assume-

"James?"

James startled back into his seat as if he had been physically pushed back, his brain sending sudden sparks and shivers through his entire body, desperately trying to connect the dots and instead just causing a short circuit which caused his mind to feel overloaded and entirely empty at the exact same time.

It took a moment of adjustment before his eyes wandered up to the source of the voice, meeting the gaze of a very concerned-looking Inventor. The one James had just mulled over in his head.

"I..."  
James started voice sounding horse even to his own ears.  
"What did you just say?"

The Inventor's gaze stayed firmly on him, the concern in his eyes radiating off of him in unceasing waves. James wanted to look away but he couldn't, simply too mesmerized by the sight that had so suddenly unfolded in front of him.

"I merely said that it is your turn now."  
Stark said, pointing his finger over to where Danvers and the rest of the team had lined up.

"No. Not that."  
James frowned, still not averting the Inventor's gaze.  
"I mean after that. What did you call me?"

For a moment, Stark seemed like a deer caught in the headlights, his eyes wide open as if in shock. Realization must have hit hard and James would have laughed at the sight every other time, but not now. He needed to know. Maybe his mind had played a dirty trick on him, maybe he was going crazy, but maybe just maybe-

"James."  
The Inventor deadpanned, trining to look everywhere but at James.  
His face looking decidedly more flustered than before.  
"That's your name, isn't it?"

If James hadn't known any better, he would letter say he had suffered a massive heart attack just then and there, his heart doing all sorts of various strange things in his chest. 

"...Yeah, but I didn't think you would know."  
He mumbled more to himself than anyone in particular when he stood up and made his way to the others, carefully avoiding Stark's eyes in the progress out of sheer embarrassment. Of course Stark knew his name... Why wouldn't he know? James killed the man's goddamn parents. It was just that James had never thought he would ever hear his name roll off of those lips...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> **This story doesn't follow the canon timeline as you might have noticed. I also changed certain things like Asgard getting rebuilt by Thor and the others instead of getting abandoned.**
> 
> Btw... Don't worry about the poor table. We all know the table was the secret star of this chapter. Someone will tend to the table and repair it.  
> The table will live, find another ancient-looking table, and will live happily ever after.
> 
> Ps. I'm thinking about writing a side story about the table and his super awesome adventures!


	7. Chapter 7

It got worse.

Why had James expected anything else?

Danvers had started her introduction, and for a moment it seemed like everything was going smoothly and according to plan. But then, after Carol had finished her introduction it had been Wanda's turn and things gradually went down the hill.

Instead of introducing herself, Wanda decided to badmouth Stark, blaming him for her family's death, her painful childhood, and for becoming a member of HYDRA.  
The stupid bitch even started crying in the progress, definitely determined to make sure that her acting skills would earn her an Oscar and foremost the pity of the other members. Wanda's skill to blame others and pretend to be the innocent victim was as disgusting as it was impressing. Yet, James couldn't for the life of his fathom to understand how Steve and the others had managed to fall for her fool play in the first place. Looking at the other members in the room, it was clear as day that no one was buying her shit for even a second. Given that, James couldn't help but feel disappointment towards Natasha. At least the Spy should have realized that Wanda had been playing them from the very beginning, using them for her own benefits and her agenda against Stark.

It was obvious that that bitch wasn't in her right mind. Her worldview on what's right and wrong could only be described as distorted and twisted. Yet, Steve had refused to see reason and had instead decided that it would be best to pamper the grown-ass women like a little child. The fact that Wanda possessed the ability to control one's mind, and had probably misused that ability already, didn't seem to bother Steve at all.

After all; The girl was just a child, not knowing how to use her powers probably. It wasn't her fault that she fucked up and managed to get countless people killed.

At least that was what Steve wanted to believe.

 _'Yeah, nothing to worry about here.'_  
James thought sarcastically.  
_'At least until the whole mess blows up in Steve's face.'_

The introductions went on relatively normal after Wanda's disastrous one, they weren't decidedly better than hers but at least none of them get any worse, so James decided to count that as a win.

Natasha and Clint had decided to keep their introduction short, their eyes constantly wandering over to where Loki was seated. The god was presumably the reason for their unwillingness to share any information about themselves.

Sam and Scott...  
Well, James hadn't bothered to listen to them. To be frank, these two were even lesser sidekicks than Clint and Natasha, and James couldn't help but label them as useless fucks without their own opinions. Scott's stolen suit had been damaged quite a lot over the last year and given how venomous Hope had stared the man down, James doubted that he would ever get it repaired, least get a new one. Sam... Well, Sam was undoubtedly Steve's biggest fan and that was about it. James was pretty much certain that if he would have to fight against the man, Sam would die in under a minute. 

After Sam and Scott, it had been Steve's turn to introduce himself, and James decidedly kept his gaze onto the floor, letting his mind wander to unknown places just so he could blend out Steve's voice. 

When Steve finally finished his righteous speech, which probably no one from the other teams had bothered to listen to, it was finally James' turn, a feeling of uneasiness suddenly making itself known in the man's gut.

James took a step forward, just like the others had done before him, his gaze roaming over the countless faces which were turned into his direction. It was strange, really. That none of the people in front of him seemed to bother him that much...

It was Steve, standing right next to him, who bothered James the most. The man's gaze radiated an overwhelming feeling of pure fondness which made James feel incredibly awkward given that it wasn't a mutual feeling.

The worst part was that Steve's gaze wasn't even directed at James...  
It was directed at _Bucky,_ a ghost of the past who had ceased to exist a long time ago. Even though James had told the man over and over again that he had changed and wasn't the same as before, Steve refused to acknowledge the truth and continued to force his feelings onto James who in turn began to despise the man more and more.

The moment James had realized that Steve would never give up on _Bucky_ , it was clear that whatever friendship they had at one point was ultimately gone. Steve continued to justify James' actions, his words, his expressions.  
Always blaming others for the things James had done.  
It was as if they were speaking two different languages. James speaking the painful and relentless truth while Steve spoke about fantasies and ghosts of the past. James wasn't kind, wasn't innocent and he certainly wasn't the person Steve saw in him...

But Steve refused to see that.

"Is everything okay, Sergeant Barnes?"  
Carol asks, her smooth voice breaking the eerie silence which had started to settle in the room.  
Her gaze looking a tad concerned, just like all the other eyes which were directed at James. It's only then that he realizes that he must have been silent for a while now. Minutes passing by without him noticing.

His mind was a funny thing at times, drowning him in his own thoughts, and managing to make him feel utterly out of place and time.

"Yeah, I just mused over the things I wanted to say."  
He lied easily, an apologetic smile plastered on his face which screamed fake.

Carol just nods at him and then takes a sip of her glass of water, offering no ongoing conversation of her own except a firm smile that indicates for James to finally start his introduction.

"I am James Buchanan Barnes, a World War II Veteran, and a former officer of the 107th Infantry Regiment, though that's all in the past..."

James couldn't help but smile when his gaze caught Steve's disappointed eyes. It was obvious that Captain America wasn't pleased with James' introduction so far. Probably because James hadn't introduced himself as James Buchanan _'Bucky'_ Barnes.

"I don't have a fancy Hero name like most of you. People mostly relate to me as the Winter Soldier, one of HYDRAS favorite playthings and probably greatest success so far, at least that's what they want to believe."  
He chuckled, sarcasm dripping from his lips.  
"I guess, nowadays people rightfully refer to me as a murderer given that I spend the last decades mostly by killing innocent people."

James' gaze unintentionally wanders over to where Stark sits, searching the man's eyes for the hatred he, oh so rightfully deserves to feel towards James.

There is none.

Instead, Stark's eyes shine with amusement, a playful smile ghosting over the Inventor's lips which makes James' heart sink at the sight.

For a moment, he doesn't understand why the Inventor would look like that but when he follows Stark's gaze which is entirely focused on Steve, he realizes why.

Steve's face is fuming with anger and irritation, face scowling at James as if he had grown a second head.

"Bucky you know that's not true... HYDRA forced you to do all these things! You had no other choice! You're not a murderer!"  
He says in his typical Captain America voice, something James had come to despise as well. It felt like Steve's righteous voice had the power to twist whatever truth James had been spoken into a lie, labeling only Steve's words as the irrefutable truth.

"But he had a choice."  
Someone chuckles in the background, thick amusement underlining the words.  
"He had the choice to either die or live, Rogers."  
Stark says smoothly while sipping his coffee.

"And your point is?!"  
Steve barks back angrily, face a nice shade of crimson red.

"My point is, dear Captain, that **James** here has obviously accepted the fact that if he had chosen death back then, a lot of people including James himself wouldn't have to suffer to such an extend. I can't even blame him for his decision though, because I had to make the exact same decision at more than one point in my life..."  
Stark sighed resigned, putting his mug of coffee down. The way he had used _James_ instead of _Bucky_ had definitely been on purpose and only managed to add more fuel to the already raging fire.

"What I want to say is; Saying he had no other choice, and blaming others for his own decisions means you're not acknowledging the man who has made that decision.

James' decision from back then molded him into the man he is right now. Your mangling and defending him is simply a selfish act from your side because you can't accept the fact that James isn't like the Bucky from your past, am I right?"

At that, James had to cast his gaze downward briefly, hiding the smug smile that was beginning to spread on his lips. Of course Stark would know. The man wasn't called a genius for no reason and unlike Steve, the Inventor wasn't blind to the truth.

Steve, on the other hand, wasn't pleased with Stark's explanation, his body had grown decidedly tenser with every word that had passed the Inventor's lips. His mouth comically hanging open as if he was at a loss for words.

James had the mind to change his position slightly, moving in front of Steve so he could take a hold on the super idiot should he make the irrational decision to make a move for Stark.

Unfortunately, Carol decided to end the introduction round right then and there, giving Steve no real chance to act on his anger or, which was more likely, to explode.

It was unfortunate because James had been actually looking forward to giving Captain Righteous a good, and well deserved beating.

 _'Another time, then.'_  
He thought bemused, starting for his seat next to the man who had read him like an open book.

Stark greeted him with a slightly sheepish looking smirk- just a small pouting of the lips; a sparkle of amusement in his eyes and a tilting of the head. It was so subtle, James was sure no one else besides him had seen it.

"Now, that we have finished this rather interesting introduction round and everyone has finally returned to their seats I would like to address one more thing we have to discuss before we can call it a day and return to our quarters."  
Doctor Strange announced in his typical annoyed sounding voice. 

"As you might have noticed, all of the Team leaders have made sure to mention how many members their team currently has. Team Alpha has currently six members, while Team Beta has only four members, and the new Team Charlie which acts under Captain Danvers has a total member count of seven people."

"And?"  
Clint asked, obviously not seeing which turn this conversation was about to take.

"The Council thinks it is a disadvantage for Team Beta to only consist of four members while all the other Teams consist of decidedly more people. In order to compensate for that imbalance between the three Teams, the Council decided that one member of Team Charlie, which has the most members, must switch one member over to Team Beta."  
Strange deadpanned, his tone still sounding constantly fed up with everything and everyone.

"And, before any of you start to complain-"  
Stange glared at Steve and his friends, then.  
"The Council's decision is irrevocable. One of you **must** join Team Beta."

"And what if we don't want to switch Teams? Like hell, I'm going to be in the same Team as this murderer."  
Wanda sneered, pointing her finger at Stark who in turn didn't even bother to grace her with his attention.

"Wanda is right. You can't force us to work under Stark! What about Banner? He could join Stark's Team."  
Clint added with a smug smile on his face.

"Hmm... I decidedly don't want to have you under me either, birdbrain. You are unquestionably not my type and for the Banner part; Bruce decided to quit. He's no longer an active part of the Avengers. He assured to lend us a hand if things get serious, but that's about it."  
Stark purred and James couldn't help but snort at the clever response which in turn earned him yet again a disappointed look from Steve.  
"To my misfortune one of you will have to join my Team, it can't be helped. The Council Members already made their decision. So, unless you guys decide to quit and leave, which I would really appreciate, by the way, one of you will have to bite into the sour apple."  
The Inventor chuckled while smugly leaning back into his seat.

"Doctor Stark's point is valid. You have signed the Accords, therefore you already agreed on this matter. Refusing the Council's demands would be a breach of contract. That being said, I do want to remind you that all of you are wanted criminals, only pardoned due to the fact that you have signed said Accords. It would be a shame, really. If all of you had to go to jail because of such a small matter."  
Matt, who had stayed mostly silent added unsolicited, the last sentence spoken with dripping sarcasm. Deadpool in the meanwhile had mimicked Edvard Munch's _'Scream'_ in the background, probably in an attempt to underline how serious the situation was but failing miserably, given that his whole face was still hidden beneath his mask.

"But-"  
Steve started but never finished whatever he was about to say.  
Instead, he started to stare daggers at the table, obviously musing over his next steps. The rest of his friends shared confused and slightly frightened looks, none of them daring to say something given that their leader had kept his complaints to himself for once.

"I wonder which one of them will join my Team..."  
Stark said to no one in particular, his voice nothing more than a whisper but loud enough for James to hear.  
"Actually, it would be rather nice if it would be someone who actually **wants** to be a part of it."  
He added absentmindedly before he stood up and started for the coffee maker.

That...

Was that a hint?

"What do you think, kiddo?"  
Constantine said with a decidedly mischievous grin on his face.  
"Who will **voluntarily** miss the opportunity to work with the great Captain America and switch over to the infamous Team Beta?"

And suddenly, James felt as if someone had hit him straight into the face.

Stark knew.

Constantine, too.

All of them already knew. That whole introduction thing had been staged for this very moment.  
That's why every Teamleader had made sure to explicitly mention how many members they had even though it had seemed so odd at that time, given that everyone could clearly see how many members each team had.

"You know, Snowflake,"  
Stark said, placing his steaming coffee mug onto the table before he made himself comfortable in his seat.  
"I don't want to sound like I am forcing you to act, but I can promise you that Shuri will be really pissed at you if you're going to let this opportunity slip."

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> To be honest. The chapter was a lot more awesome in my head. (. _ .)  
> I'm sure it is a little bit disappointing but the more I changed it the worse it got.
> 
> Btw. of course, Shuri didn't just ask but rather threatened the Council to give James the opportunity to switch Teams.

**Author's Note:**

> I won't update this work on a regular basis given that I'm still working on another project. I just had to get the idea out of my head. Maybe I upload this once a month if I have some spare time.
> 
> Thank you for reading. <3


End file.
